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ADDRESS 



^TJ^THC^.IsriEnii BURT 



FEBRUARY 12, 1875, 



ON THE 



WASHINGTON MANSION 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 





PHILADELPHIA: 

JAMES A. MOORE, PRINTER, 1222 AND 1221 SANSOM STREET. 

1 8 7 5 . 




HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PfflMME 



ADDRESS 



ZKr^TIEIJLISriEILj BURT. 



FEBBTTABY 12, 1875, 



ON THE 



WASHINGTON MANSION 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 




PHILADELPHIA: 

JAMES A. MOORE, PRINTER, 1222 Aim 122i SANSOM STREET. 
1875. 



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PRELIMINARY CORRESPONDENCE. 



Philadelphia, January 6th, 1875. 

Dear Sir: — 

Some confusion of idea, as you are aware, has 
prevailed of late among antiquaries, as to the exact situation and history 
of the house, in Market street, below Sixth, occupied by Washington, 
while the seat of Government was in this city. 

Mr. Everett, in his discourse delivered here, not many years since, 
seemed, according to a printed report of it, to have considered the house 
as then standing. " The house in which he lived," said he, " is known." 
"We question the accuracy of that impression. Claims are now made 
for different sites, below Sixth street, as the honored spot. 

The matter is, ^probably, to be ascertained with certainty by reference 
to title papers. 

We suppose you to be now the owner of the lot on which the house 
formerly stood, and if this is so, no one can know the history better 
than you. 

Should it be agreeable to you to communicate to the Society, in a dis- 
course before it, your knowledge of the subject, we shall be most happy 
to have you do so. We are with great respect, 
Your Obedient Servants, 

JOHN Wm. WALLACE, 
JOHN JORDAN, Jr., 
CRAIG BIDDLE, 
HENRY C. CAREY, 
AUBREY H. SMITH, 
CHARLES M. MORRIS, 
TOWNSEND WARD. 
To Nathaniel Burt, Esq. 



6 PRELIMINARY CORRESPONDENCE. 

1203 Walnut Street, January 14th, 1875. 
Gentlemen : — » 

Your very kind letter of the sixth instant, 
requesting a discourse before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, on 
the subject of the "Washington Mansion, in this city, is received. 

As the subject is one of general interest, and as the papers in my 
possession are certainly such as permit of no doubt as to the location, I 
shall only fulfill a public duty in complying with your request, and will 
take pleasure in doing so on any evening agreeable to the Society. 
Very Respectfully, 

Your Obedient Servant, 

NATHANIEL BURT. 

To Messrs. John Wm, Wallace, John Jordan, Jr., and others. 



A MINUTE. 



Special Meeting, 
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 
February 12th, 1875. 

The President in the chair, and a large attendance of members and 
others. 

The President introduced Mr. Nathaniel Burt, who proceeded to read 
a paper entitled " The Washington Mansion in Philadelphia." 

At the conclusion of the paper the following resolution, offered by Dr. 
Edward Shippen, U. S. N., was unanimously adopted : — 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Society be presented to Mr. Burt for 
his most interesting, able and eloquent address ; and that a copy be re- 
quested for publication. 

Samuel L. Smedley, 

Rec. Sec. 



ADDRESS. 



There having been, as appears by the records of the 
" Historical Society of Pennsylvania," an uncertainty as to 
the precise ground where stood the Residence of General 
"Washington during the years of his Presidency ; and as it is 
believed that the subject maybe one of considerable interest 
to the Society and to others, the writer, holding papers which 
are amply decisive of the matter, respectfully submits the 
following memoranda and extracts from those papers, and 
will be happy to give to any one so desiring, or to a com- 
mittee of the " Historical Society," access to the same, for 
further elucidation and settlement. 

An address, on the subject of the Washington Mansion 
in Philadelphia, can, in the nature of things, contain little 
or nothing that is new or original ; it must consist almost 
solely of extracts from musty parchments and from records 
of the olden time. 

And yet, it seems clearly a duty incumbent on the holder 
of those parchments, as he only has the power to do so, to 
collate for you such portions as may illustrate our subject, 
and may also be an humble contribution to the increasing 
activity and energy of our Historical Society — which have 
been so marked of late years — that the Society, as it looks 
kindly and lovingly upon the labors of its members, may very 
truly say, in the' words of an old motto, 

" Senesco, non Segnesco." 



10 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

The first paper to be noticed is, naturally, the patent, to 
John Kinsey, then Chief Justice of the Province, recorded 
August 30th, 1738, in part, as follows : — 

" John Penn, Thomas Penn, and Richard Penn, true and 
absolute Proprietaries and Governours in chief of the pro- 
vince of Pennsylvania and counties of New Castle, Kent 
and Sussex, on Delaware, to all unto whom these presents 
shall come send greeting: 

" "Whereas, Our late Father, William Penn, Esquire, de- 
ceased, then Proprietary and Governour in chief of the pro- 
vince aforesaid, by his indenture of lease and release bearing 
date respectively the third and fourth days of July, in the 
year sixteen hundred and eighty-two, for the consideration 
therein mentioned, did grant, bargain and sell unto Thomas 
Harley, of Kingsham Court, in the county of Hereford, in 
that part of Great Britain called England, Esquire, and to 
his heirs and assigns forever, five thousand acres of land, in 
the province of Pennsylvania, in right of which purchase the 
said Thomas Harley, in his lifetime, and Thomas Harley, of 
the middle temple, Esquire, son and heir of the aforesaid 
Thomas Harley, became entitled to a lot of ground on the 
Front street in the city of Philadelphia, in the province 
aforesaid, and whereas the said Thomas Harley, the son, by 
his deed poll, bearing date the fifteenth day of August, in 
the year one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine, for the 
consideration mentioned, did grant, bargain and sell the said 
five thousand acres of land and lot or piece of ground afore- 
said, unto Thomas Fairman, his heirs and assigns, forever " 
(this right afterwards passed to George Fitzwater, and after 
sundry clauses the deed proceeds), " and the surveyor general, 
on the twelfth day of September, in the year aforesaid, in 
lieu and recompense for the said Front street lot, before 
that time granted to our Sister Leetitia, did survey and lay 
out unto the aforesaid George Fitzwater all that lot or piece 
of ground situate on the South side of the High street of the 
city of Philadelphia, between the Fifth and Sixth streets of 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 11 

the same city, bounded on the North with the said High 
street, eastward with a lot then in the tenure of Elizabeth 
Britton, southward with Chestnut street lots, and westward 
with a lot formerly Thomas.Mayleigh's, being in breadth one 
hundred and twenty feet, and in length three hundred and 
six." 

The patent then recites further transfers, and finally 
vests the property in John Kinsey. 

On January 1st, 1761, 1 find a deed of James Kinsey (son 
of the above John Kinsey, and Chief Justice of New Jer- 
sey) and others, to John Lawrence, Esq. 

A daughter of this John Lawrence, as I believe, had 
married William Masters, and in October of the same year, 
1761, 1 find a deed of John Lawrence and wife, to their now 
widowed daughter, Mary Masters. 

On the 19th of May, 1772, is recorded a deed reciting 
that "whereas, the said I\£ary Masters hath built on the 
aforesaid lot of ground, a messuage or dwelling house, and 
made other very valuable improvements thereon: Now 
know ye that the said Mary Masters, in consideration of the 
natural love and affection which she bears toward her eldest 
daughter, Mary Masters, hath given, granted and con- 
firmed to her said daughter," etc., the lot as received by her 
from John Lawrence. 

Whether captivated in part by the solid charms of the lady, 
or not, the Hon. Richard Penn married this Mary Mas- 
ters, the daughter. I am unable to say whether he and his 
wife occupied the house built, as we have just seen, on this 
lot, by Mary Masters, the mother, but I believe it was this 
Mr. Penn who built and occupied the Landsdowne property 
until 1795. 

During the possession of Philadelphia by the British forces, 



12 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

Gen. Howe held his headquarters here, and it is also said . 
that Gen. Arnold, when in command of the city, occupied it. 

Among the interesting papers of this period, is the origi- 
nal letter of attorney from the Hon. Richard Penn to Tench 
Francis, empowering him to sell all his lands. 

"We come next to a deed of August 25th, 1785, of Mary 
Masters, the mother, Richard Penn and wife, and Sarah 
Masters, to Robert Morris, well-known in Revolutionary 
times, of a plot of ground on Market or High street, com- 
mencing, as appears by the papers, at a distance of sixty 
feet from Sixth street, "containing in breadth, on said 
(High) street, forty-eight feet, and in depth one hundred 
and eighty feet .... and whereas, the capital messuage 
erected on said lot was, on or about the 2d day of January, 
1780, for the most part, consumed by fire and rendered 
uninhabitable, whereupon the said Richard Penn, by letters 
under his hand, directed the said Tench Francis, whom he 
had constituted his attorney, with power to sell and convey 
all his real estate in America, to sell the ruins of the said mes- 
suage, together with all and singular the lots of ground 
herein-above described, which were and had been custom- 
arily used with the said messuage, to any person willing to 
purchase the same, and thereupon the said Tench Francis, 
as attorney to the said Richard Penn, contracted with the 
said Robert Morris for the absolute sale and conveyance of 
the said messuage and lots of ground, for the price of 
3750 pounds, sterling money of Great Britain, which sum * 
;the.said Robert Morris secured to be paid to the said Rich- 
ard Penn upon the perfecting the title to the said Robert 
Morris, and thereupon the said Robert Morris received 
possession of the said ruins and lots of ground, and hath 
since caused them to be rebuilt and repaired, and hath made 



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IN PHILADELPHIA. 13 

divers other very valuable improvements thereon and 

for various considerations, adding to the lot eastward, mak- 
ing it about seventy-five feet," to which a perfect title is 
made. 

Accompanying this deed is a " plan," a copy of which is 
herewith submitted, and which abundantly explains itself. 
It is the precise ground plan of the Presidential Mansion, 
originally built by Mary Masters, as we have seen, between 
the years 1761 and 1772, and burned down in 1780, the part 
marked "burnt house" having been already rebuilt by 
Robert Morris. Its roomy and comfortable nature deserves 
notice, the main house being about 46x52, the Virginia-like 
kitchen, 37x20, and having very extensive coach house and 
stables. There were a"lso large water reservoirs, then a fea- 
ture of Philadelphia mansions, one of which still exists. An 
elevation, believed to be correct, is also submitted. 

You will pardon me if I dwell for a few moments on this, 
the interesting period of the history of this property. The 
second session of the first Congress of the United States, the 
first and only Congress held in the city of New York, closed 
on the 12th day of August, 1790. 

Among the prophetic incidents which I have met with in 
these researches, may be mentioned that, during the dis- 
cussion by Congress as to the future seat of government, 
occurs, in a private letter, an objection, by a Southern 
member, to Philadelphia, because the "Quakers were 
eternally worrying them about their slaves." 

Philadelphia was decided on, and during the remaining 
period of the two terms of the Presidency of Washington, 
Congress sat in this city, and it became necessary to procure 
a Presidential residence here. On the 30th of August 
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"PRESIDENT'S LOT." 

















Pao-simii.k op the Pi. ax made fok Robert Moekis, hy Richard Penn and ottcer3, Augpst 25, 1785, 
The lot marked "President's Lot" Is referred to in tlio deeds as the lot reserved for " the President of the Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsy:vanla." 



The " Burnt House " was rebuilt by Mori 
The " Wood Yard " is now 521 .Market str 



> {vide Deeds), and is now52(i, 528 and rsM Market street. Here was President Washington's House. 



14 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

in Virginia. On the 3d of September he writes to his 
private Secretary, Mr. Lear : — 

"After a pleasant journey we arrived in this city (Phila- 
delphia) on Thursday last, and to-morrow we proceed (if 
Mrs. Washington's health will permit, for she has been 
much indisposed since we came here) toward Mount Yernon. 
The house of Mr. Robert Morris had, previous to my arrival, 
D"een taken by the corporation for my residence. It is the 
best they could get; it is, I believe, the best single house in 
the city, yet without additions it is inadequate to the 
commodious accommodation of my family. These ad- 
ditions, I believe, will be made. The first floor con- 
tains only two public rooms (except one for the upper 
servants) ; the second floor will have two public (drawing) 
rooms, and, with the aid of one room with a partition in it, 
the back building will be sufficient for the use of Mrs. 
Washington and the children and their maids, besides 
affording her a small place for a private study and dressing 
room. The third story will furnish you and Mrs. Lear 
with a good lodging room, a public office, for there is no 
room below for one, and two rooms for the gentlemen of the 
family. The garret has four good rooms, which must serve 
Mr. and Mrs. Hyde, unless they should prefer the room over 
the work house (doubtless the wash house in the plan ; Mr. 
Hyde was butler), also William and such servants as it may 
not be better to place in the proposed additions to the back 
building. There is a room over the stable, which may serve 
the coachman and postillions, and there is a smoke-house, 
which may possibly be more valuable for the use of servants 
than for the smoking of meats. The intention of the addition 
to the back building is to provide a servants' hall and one or 
two lodging rooms for the servants. There are good stables, 
but for twelve horses only,* and a coach house which will 

* A casual reader might suppose that the statement in the text, that the stables 
on Minor street had room for " twelve horses only," was a misprint, and that if 
the President had room for twelve horses, he had room for as many as he could 
wish to entertain. Horses, however, are a passion with most Virginia gentlemen, 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 15 

hold all my carriages. Speaking of carriages, I have left 
my coach to receive a thorough repair, by the time I return, 
which I expect will be before the 1st of December." 

He remarks in a later letter, " I had rather have heard 
that my repaired coach was plain and elegant, than rich and 
elegant." 

The question of rent to be paid to Mr. Morris was one of 
which "Washington writes at some length, on the 14th of 
November, fearing chiefly, as appears, that an effort would be 
made to force him to accept the residence as a gift of the 
city, for he writes : — 

" To occupy the premises at the expense of any public 
body, I will not." 

He feared also that, as he was determined to pay rent, de- 
lay would cause a rise, as the records show that the antici- 
pated removal of Congress to this city had already caused a 
great increase in values : for instance, Mrs. Adams writes, 
on taking possession of her unfinished house on Bush Hill : 

" Mr. Hamilton pleads the difficulty of getting workmen 
as an excuse for the house not being ready. Mrs. Lear 
was in to see me yesterday, and assures me that I am much 
better off than Mrs. "Washington will be when she arrives, 

and so it was with Washington. Davidson, a famons Virginia dealer, used to say 
that no man in his State was a more sagacious judge, or more intelligent purchaser 
of horses, than Washington. " I found," said Stuart, the artist, to one of his 
friends, " that it was difficult to interest Washington in conversation while I was 
taking his portrait. I began on the Eevolution — the battles of Monmouth, Prince- 
ton, etc. — but he was absolutely dumb ; I could get nothing from him. After a 
while I got on horses. I had touched the right chord. It seemed to interest him 
more than any other topic." Besides those in his own stables, on Minor street 
(which it would appear from his letter would hold twelve), I have it from a wit- 
ness of the very highest accuracy in his statements (the late Mr. Thomas H. 
White, son of the venerable first Bishop of Pennsylvania), that the President, at 
one time, had no less than fourteen horses at Hilseimer's livery stables, in Phila- 
delphia ; well-known stables of that day, in Seventh street, below Walnut. (Manu- 
script note on Dr. GrizwoloVs copy of the Republican Court, intended for a new 
edition.^ 



16 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

for that their house is not likely to be completed this year. 
If New York wishes any revenge for the removal, the citi- 
zens might be glutted if they would come here, where every 
article has risen to almost double its price." 

The rent was finally fixed at three thousand dollars a year, 
and so continued during his occupancy. 

In reminiscences of Mr. Richard Rush, I find : — 

" The mansion of "Washington stood by itself; it was a 
large double house ; few if any equal to it are at present in 
Philadelphia. The brielj of the house was, even in his time, 
dark with age, and two ancient lamp posts, furnished with 
large lamps, which stood, in front, marked it, in conjunction 
with the whole external aspect, as the abode of opulence and 
respectability, before he became its august tenant. No 
market house then stood on the street. To the east a brick 
wall, six or seven feet high, ran well on towards Fifth street, 
until it met other houses (the first house believed to be now 
514 and 516, also owned by Robert Morris, as I find else- 
where, was occupied by General Stewart); the wall inclosed 
a garden, which was shaded by lofty old trees, and ran back 
to what is now Minor street, where the stables stood. To 
the west no building adjoined it, the nearest house in that 
direction being at the corner of Sixth and Market, where 
lived Robert Morris." 

This last is the house and lot which, as we have elsewhere 
shown, is marked in the old deeds as the lot " set apart for 
the residence of the President of the Executive Council » of 
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." 

In regard to servants for his new house, as showing the 
singular minuteness of "Washington, permit me to extract 
the following : — 

" "With respect to Mr. Hyde, the butler, and his wife, if it 
is not stated in some paper handed in by Mr. Hyde, it is 
nevertheless strong in my recollection, that his wife's ser- 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 17 

vices were put down at one, and his own services at two 
hundred dollars per annum. I have no wish to part with 
Mr. and Mrs. Hyde, first, because I do not like to be chang- 
ing, and second, because I do not know where or with whom 
to supply their places. On the score of accounts I can say 
nothing, having never taken a comparative view of his and 
Fraunces' (his cook), but I am exceedingly mistaken if the 
expenses of the second table, at which Mr. Hyde presides, 
have not greatly exceeded those of the tables kept by 
Fraunces, for I strongly suspect (but in this I may be mis- 
taken) that nothing is brought to my table, of liquors, fruits, 
or other luxuries, that is not used as profusely at his. If 
my suspicions are unfounded, I shall be sorry for having 
entertained them, and if they are not, it is at least question- 
able, whether under his successor the same things might not 
be done, in which case (if Hyde is honest and careful, of 
which you are better able to judge than I am), a change 
without a benefit might take place, which is not desira- 
ble, if they are to be retained on proper terms. I say they, 
for if Mrs. Hyde is necessary, for the purposes enumerated 
in your letter, and the cook is not competent to prepare the 
dessert, make cake, etc., I do not see of what use Hyde 
will be, more than William without her. Fraunces, besides 
being an excellent cook, knowing how to provide genteel 
dinners, and giving aid in dressing them, prepared the 
dessert, made the cake, and did everything that is done by 
Hyde and his wife together ; consequently the services of 
Hyde alone are not to be compared with those of Fraunces, 
and if his accounts exceed those of Fraunces in the same 
seasons, four or five pounds a week, and at the same time 
appear fair, I shall have no scruple to acknowledge that I 
have entertained much harder thoughts of him than I ought 
to have done, although it is unaccountable to me how other 
families, on twenty-five hundred or three thousand dollars a 
year, should be enabled to entertain more company, or at 
least entertain more r frequently, than I could do for twenty- 
five thousand dollars." 



18 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

Behold the Father of his country puzzling over a problem 
which has posed many of his children since. The obscure 
and involved style of the letter is perhaps without another 
example, in Washington's correspondence. 

Of the manner in which the Presidential residence was 
furnished, permit me to give some farther extracts from 
the same series of letters: — 

The President writes to Mr. Lear : " Mr. and Mrs. Morris 
have insisted upon leaving the two large looking glasses 
which are in the best rooms, because they have no place, 
they say, proper to remove them to (quaintly enough these 
same looking glasses appear again, in a subsequent paper, 
which I shall submit to you). You will therefore let them 
have instead, the choice of mine ; the large ones I purchased 
of the French minister they do not incline to take, but will 
be glad of some of the others. They will also leave a large 
glass lamp in the entry or hall, and will take one or more of 
my glass lamps in lieu of it. Mrs. Morris has a mangle (I 
think it is called), for ironing clothes, which, as it is fixed in 
the place where it is commonly used, she proposes to leave 
and take mine. To this I have no objection, provided mine 
is equally good. I have no particular direction to give 
respecting the appropriation of' the furniture. By means of 
the bow windows, the back rooms will become the largest, 
and of course will receive the furniture of the largest dining 
and drawing rooms, and in that case (though there are no 
closets in them, there are some in the steward's room, directly 
opposite), there is a small room adjoining the kitchen that 
might be appropriated for the Sevres china, and other things 
of that sort which are not in common use. You will find 
Mrs. Morris a notable lady in family arrangements, and can 
give you much information." (Mrs. Morris was a sister of 
the venerable Bishop White.) " I approve of the large table 
ornaments remaining on the sideboard, and of the pagodas 
standing in the smaller drawing room. Whether the green 
which you have, or a new yellow curtain, should be appro- 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 19 

priated to the staircase above the hall, may depend on your 
getting an exact match in color, and so forth, of the latter. 
For the sake of appearances, one would not, in instances of 
this kind, regard a small additional expense." * 

Having thus endeavored to group together for you some 
facts tending to give a general idea of the new quarters of 
Washington, let me add a few glimpses of the life of its 
illustrious occupant, who took possession of it on Saturday, 
November 28th, 1790. 

In the work called " The Republican Court," to which I 
am already indebted, I find the following passage : — 

" From the note-book of the late Mr. Horace Binney Wal- 
lace, ' brother of the honored President of this Society,' I am 
permitted to transcribe a record of some conversations with 
his mother, Mrs. Susan Wallace, in which that lady, so emi- 
nent for whatever is noble and beautiful in her sex, disclosed 
her recollections of Washington's habits, personal appear- 
ance and manners. 

" Mrs. Mary Binney, mother of Mrs. Wallace, resided in 
Market street, opposite to Gen. Washington's. It was the 
General's custom, frequently, when the day was fine, to come 
out to walk, attended by his secretaries, Mr. Lear and Major 
William Jackson, one on each side. He always crossed di- 
rectly over from his own door to the sunny side of the street, 
and walked down; he was dressed in black, and all three 
wore cocked hats. 

" General Washington had a large family coach, a light 

* A valuable Parisian-made writing desk, used by Washington during his resi- 
dence here, is preserved in the Historical Society's Rooms, purchased by Mrs. 
Powel after Washington had given up the Mansion, as appears by the letter of 
Mr. Lear, in possession of the Society: — 

" Mr. Lear presents his respectful compliments to Mrs. Powel, and, agreeably 
to General Washington's command, has the honor to send her the •writing desk 
which she bought of the General. The original cost of the desk was £98 — New 
York currency, $245. Mrs. Powel will also receive a pair of oval mirrors, 
brackets and lamps, which the General begs she will accept as a token of his re- 
spectful and affectionate remembrance. 
. " Thursday, March 9th, 1797." 



20 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

carriage and a chariot, all alike cream colored, painted with 
three enameled figures on each panel, and very handsome. 
He drove in the coach to Christ Church every Sunday 
morning, with two horses : drove the carriage and four into 
the country, to Landsdowne, the country seat then of Mr. 
Penn, afterwards of the Bingham's, and the Hills, where Mr. 
and Mrs. Adams resided, and other places (he frequently 
drove to Judge Peters' at Belmont). In going to the Senate, 
he used the chariot, with six horses.* All his servants were 
white, and wore liveries of white cloth, trimmed w T ith scarlet 
or orange. 

"Mrs. Wallace saw Gen. "Washington frequently at public 
balls. His manners there were very gracious and pleasant. 
She went with Mrs. Oliver Wolcott to one of Mrs. "Washing- 
ton's drawing rooms. The General was present, and came 
up and bowed to every lady after she was seated. 

"Mrs. Binney visited Mrs. Washington frequently. It 
was Mrs. Washington's custom to return visits on the third 
day, and she thus always returned Mrs. Binney's." 

The President held receptions every other Tuesday, from 
three to four in the afternoon. These receptions were in 
the dining room, on the first floor, in the back part of the 
house (the bay windowed room, as we have seen). At three 
o'clock, all the chairs having been removed, the door from 

* This was the most elegant of General Washington's carriages, and was pre- 
sented to Mrs. Washington by the Government of Pennsylvania. It was built in 
London, expressly for Governor John Penn, and exhibited there for its remark- 
able beauty. Mr. Penn brought it with him to this country. When he returned 
to England it was purchased by the Pennsylvania Government, who gave it to 
Mrs. Washington. It was of cream color, richly decorated, as already stated, with 
gilt medalions. It was so elegant that some persons professed to think it too 
pompous for a B,epublican President. Mrs. Washington used frequently to drive 
vin this carriage, with her lovely granddaughter Nelly, to visit Mrs. Penn at Lands- 
downe, taking with her Miss Elizabeth Bordley, now Mrs. James Gibson, or othet 
young ladies to whom Miss Custis was particularly attached. Landsdowne was 
an estate of Mrs. Penn's, who owned and improved it, having built there, about 
the year 1774, an admirable house. She continued to improve it till Mr. Penn's 
death, in 1795, when she returned for the last time to England, and then it was 
bought by Mr. Bingham, to whose estate it belonged for many years. It is now 
part of the Park. 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 21 

the large front room was opened, and the President, usually 
surrounded by members of his Cabinet or other distinguished 
men, was seen by the approaching visitor standing before 
the fireplace, his hair powdered and gathered behind in a 
silk bag, coat and breeches of plain black velvet, white or 
pearl colored vest, yellow gloves, a cocked hat in his hand, 
silver knee and shoe buckles, and a long sword, with a finely- 
wrought and glittering steel hilt, the coat worn over it, and 
its scabbard of polished leather. The name of every one 
was distinctly announced, and he rarely forgot that of a 
person who had once been introduced to him. The visitor 
was received with a dignified bow and passed on to another 
part of the room. At a quarter past three the door was 
closed, the gentlemen present moved into a circle, and he 
proceeded, beginning at his right hand, to exchange a few 
words with each. When the circuit was completed he 
resumed his first position, and the visitors approached him 
in succession, bowed and retired. 

At the levees of Mrs. Washington he did not consider 
any visit as made to himself, and he appeared as a private 
gentleman, with neither hat nor sword, conversing without 
restraint, generally with women, who rarely had other 
opportunity of meeting him. 

The first levee in Philadelphia was on the evening of 
Friday, the 25th of December, Christmas Day, 1790. Mrs. 
Adams went, attended by her son, Mr. Charles Adams, and 
she mentions the dazzling Mrs. Bingham and her beautiful 
sisters, the Misses Allen, the Misses Chew, and, in short, a 
constellation of beauties. The ladies of Philadelphia had 
already achieved that eminence in beauty which they have 
retained ever since. Miss Sally McKean wrote to a friend 
in New York — 



22 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

" You never could have had such a drawing room ; it 
was brilliant beyond anything you can imagine; and 
though there was a great deal of extravagance, there was so 
much of Philadelphia taste in everything, that it must have 
been confessed the most delightful occasion of the kind 
ever known in this country." 

The winter presented a continual succession of balls, 
dinner parties, and other scenes of gayety and dissipation. 
But in all this be it remembered there was nothing, on the 
part of Washington or his household, beyond a due regard 
for the times and his position. So far from it, that Oliver 
Wolcott, in a letter to his wife, discussing the propriety of 
accepting the Secretaryship of the Treasury, offered to him, 
and of course requiring his residence in Philadelphia, 
declares, " The example of the President and his family will ren- 
der parade and expense improper and disreputable." 

Of the simple manners of the family, an extract from the 
travels of a Mr. Henry Wansey, an English manufacturer, 
who breakfasted with them on the eighth of June, 1794, 
will be of interest. 

" I confess," he says, " I was struck with awe and 
admiration when I recollected that I was now in the 
presence of the great Washington, ' the noble and wise 
benefactor of the world,' as Mirabeau styles him. When 
we look down from this truly illustrious character, on other 
public servants, we find a glowing contrast ; nor can we fix 
our attention on any other great men, without discovering 

in them a vast and mortifying dissimilarity The President 

seemed very thoughtful, and was slow in delivering himself, 
which induced some to believe him reserved; but it was 
rather the result of much reflection, for he had to me the 
appearance of affability and accommodation. He was at 
this time in his sixty-third year, but he had very little the 
appearance of age. Mrs. Washington herself made tea and 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 23 

coffee for us. On the table were two small plates of sliced 

tongue and dry toast, bread and butter Miss Eleanor 

Custis, her granddaughter, a very pleasing young lady of 
about sixteen, sat next to her, and next her grandson, 
George "Washington Parke Custis, about two years younger. 
There were but slight indications of form, one servant only 
attending, who had no livery, and a silver urn for hot water 
was the only expensive article on the table. Mrs. "Washing- 
ton struck me as something older than the President, 
though I understand they were both born the same year. 
She was short in stature, rather robust, extremely simple in 
her dress, and wore a very plain cap, with her gray hair 
turned up under it."* 

These numerous, but I trust not tiresome, extracts, must 
suffice to picture faintly the social life of the illustrious occu- 
pant of the property which is our theme. Of his political 
life, compared with the vastness of the subject, we have time 
to say but little. But it was, as you all know, the period 
when, from out of the chaos and darkness of our earlier 
history, there came, by the will of a munificent Creator 
(working through his divinely appointed agents, the great 
men of that day), order and light. For were" they not 
Divinely appointed ? Has there not been, from the day when 
the Lord called Abraham, and stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, 

* A beautiful incident of family life is recited by Mrs. Elizabeth Bordley 
Gibson : — 

" Mrs. Washington was in the habit of retiring at an early hour to her own 
room, unless detained by company, and there, no matter what the hour, Nellie 
attended her. One evening, my father's carriage being late in coming for me, my 
dear young friend invited me to accompany her to grandmama's room. There, 
after some little chat, Mrs. Washington apologized to me for pursuing her usual 
preparations for the night, and Nellie entered upon her accustomed duty by 
reading a chapter and a psalm from the old family Bible, after which all present 
knelt in evening prayer ; Mrs. Washington's faithful maid then assisted her to 
disrobe and lay her head upon the pillow; Nellie then sang a verse of some 
sweetly soothing hymn, and then, leaning down, received her parting blessing 
for the night, with some emphatic remark on her duties, improvements, etc. The 
effect of these judicious habits and teachings appeared in the granddaughter's 
character through life." 



24 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

and before and since, throughout history, the manifest 
presence and inspiration of the Almighty, in the great crises 
of mankind? 

And when was ever a greater? 

The time had come for another experiment of a Republic, 
of self-government; self-government; which means, and 
therefore is only possible to certain races of men, GOVERN- 
ING ONE'S SELF FIRST OF ALL. Experiments had 
been tried, and failed, often before. Ancient History bears 
record of several, so evanescent, they scarce left a trace on 
its pages. One, indeed, bright and luminous for then and 
for all time, but bearing seeds of ruin which soon ripened; 
Modern History (excepting the unique instance of Switzer- 
land, which, from its minuteness, and the simple and hardy 
manners of its people, could afford no presage of the ex- 
periment on a great scale); Modern History contains, ex- 
cepting this, no instance of a successful long-continued repub- 
lic. Here, then, was the work for the men of that day; to 
inaugurate a new era for humanity ; to lay the foundations 
of the new nation, destined to be of no one race, but a home 
for all races, so broad that the waters of the two great oceans 
of the world only bound it, so deep that the earthquake of 
civil war could shake, but not shatter it. 

In this city, in that honored building, which has no as- 
sociation more honored, more pregnant with the future, 
were held the sessions of the Constitutional Convention of 
1787. 

I have often thought the work of that Convention, and 

the labors of Washington which led to and dominated 

t it, have never been sufficiently appreciated among us. In 

his remarkable circular to the Governors of all the States, 

of June 8th, 1783, peace being declared, and our States 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 25 

being independent and confederate, Washington, looking 
most anxiously to the future, says, prefacing by the charac- 
teristic words : — 

"The great object for which I had the honor to hold an 
appointment in the service of my country being accom- 
plished, I am now preparing to return to that domestic re- 
tirement which it is well known I left with the greatest 
reluctance. 

" For the American people, sole lords and pro- 
prietors of a vast tract of continent, comprehending all the 
various soils and climates of the world, and abounding 
with all necessaries and conveniences of life ; and acknowl- 
edged possessors of absolute freedom and independence; 
this is the time of their political probation; this is the 
moment to establish or ruin their character forever. This is 
the favorable moment to give such a tone to the federal 
government as will enable it to answer the ends of its insti- 
tution; or this may be the moment for relaxing the powers 
of the Union, annihilating the cement of the confederation, 
and exposing us to become the sport of* European politics. 
. ■ "With this conviction of the importance of the pres- 
ent crisis, silence in me would be a crime." 

He then proceeds to elaborate four leading points, as es- 
sential to the well-being, and even the existence, of the 
United States. 

"First. An indissoluble Union of the States, under 
one federal head, and a perfect acquiescence of the several 
States in the full exercise of the prerogative vested in such 

head. 

Second. A sacred regard to public justice in discharging 
debts and fulfilling contracts made by Congress, for the pur- 
pose of carrying on the war. 

Third. A proper organization of the militia, and 
Fourth. A disposition among the people of the United 
States to forget local prejudices and policies; to make mu- 



26 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

tual concessions, and to sacrifice individual advantages to 
the interests of the community. 

After setting forth his views on these subjects, he concludes, 1 
"It now remains to be my final request, that your Excel- 
lency will communicate these sentiments to your legislature 
at their next meeting, and that they may be considered the 
legacy of one who has ardently wished, on all occasions, to 
be useful to his country, and who, even in the shade of re- 
tirement, will not fail to implore the divine benediction on it." 

" I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, 
and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; 
that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate 
a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to 
entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for 
their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and par- 
ticularly for brethren who have served in the field ; and 
finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose 
us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves 
with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, 
which are the characteristics of the Divine Author of our 
blessed religion, and without whose example in those things 
we can never hope to be a happy nation." 

And when, in May, 1787, he, who had been "first in war," 
now greatest among the great , was made President of the 
Convention, and his influence was felt in every clause ; 

And when, resting again at his beloved Mt. Vernon, dur- 
ing the time required for the Constitution to receive the 
approval of the States, he hears, in July, 1788, of its adop- 
tion ; he writes : — 

" We may trace the finger of Providence through those 
dark, mysterious events which first induced the States to 
appoint a general Convention, and then led them, one after 
another, by such steps as were best calculated to effect the 
object, into an adoption of the system recommended by the 
general Convention; thereby, in all human probability, lay- 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 27 

ing a foundation for tranquillity and happiness, when we 
had but too much reason to fear that confusion and misery 
were coming rapidly upon us." 

And yet again, when, in April, 1789, having, as President 
of the newly organized nation, hade adieu, for another 
eight years, to his retirement, he was met on the frontier of 
Pennsylvania, " by his former companion in arms, Mifflin, 
now governor of the State, who, with Judge Peters, and a 
civil and military escort, was waiting to receive him, and at 
Chester, cavalry had assembled from the surrounding coun- 
try; and a superb white horse was led out for him to mount, 
and a grand procession set forward, with General St. Clair 
at its head, gathering numbers as it advanced, passing under 
triumphal arches, and entering Philadelphia, amid the shouts 
of the multitude. And when, after a day of public festiv- 
ity, at a great civic banquet tendered him, in response to the 
congratulations of the Mayor, Washington replied, and in 
that reply, we find his own answer to our question : were 
they not Divinely appointed? 

"When I contemplate the interposition of Providence, as 
it was visibly manifested, in guiding us through the Revolu- 
tion, in preparing us for the reception of the general govern- 
ment, and in conciliating the good-will of the people ot 
America toward one another, after its adoption, I feel myself 
oppressed, and almost overwhelmed, with a sense of Divine 
munificence! I feel that nothing is due to my personal 
agency, in all these wonderful and complicated events, ex- 
cept what can be attributed to an honest zeal for the good 
of my country." 

And then and there began the great experiment, the prac- 
tical working, the crucial test of the new constitution, and, 
which must not be forgotten, of our fitness for it and for our 
high destiny. The duty of each branch of the government 



28 THE WASHINGTON MANSION ' 

was fully appreciated by each to be, not only to deal with, all 
questions of the time, as they arose, but also to set an exam- 
ple and a precedent for all time. How profoundly import- 
ant, then, in a political aspect, were those Presidential years 
passed in that old house on High street. 

Washington continued to reside here, with intervals of ab- 
sence at Mount Vernon and on tours of duty or pleasure, until 
March, 1797. 

On the second day of March, 1797, he writes to Henry 
Knox : — 

" Among the last acts of my political life, and before I 
go hence into retirement, profound will be the acknowledg- 
ment of your kind and affectionate letter To the wearied 

traveler, who sees a resting place and is bending his body 

to lean thereon, I now compare myself. The remainder 

of my life, which in the course of nature cannot be long, will 
be occupied in rural amusements, and though I shall seclude 
myself as much as possible, none would more than myself 
be regaled by the company of those I esteem at Mount 
Vernon, more than twenty miles from which, after I arrive 

there, it is not likely that I ever shall be As early in next 

week as I can make my arrangements for it, I shall com- 
mence my journey to Mt. Vernon. To-morrow, at dinner, I 
shall, as a servant of the public, take my leave of the Presi- 
dent elect, of the foreign characters, the heads of depart- 
ments, etc., and the day following, with pleasure, I shall 
witness the inauguration of my successor to the chair of 
government.'' 

On the 3d of March (according with the intimation in 
this last letter) he gave a farewell dinner to the foreign 
ministers and their wives, Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Mr. Jeffer- 
son, and other conspicuous personages of both sexes. " Dur- 
ing the dinner much hilarity prevailed," says Bishop White, 
who was present. " When the cloth was removed, Washing- 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 29 

ton filled his glass and said, ' Ladies and gentlemen, this 
is the last time I shall drink your health as a public man. I 
do it with sincerity, wishing you all possible happiness.' " 
The gaj-ety of the company was checked in an instant ; all 
felt the importance of this leave taking. Mrs. Liston, the 
wife of the British minister, was so much affected that tears 
streamed down her cheeks. 

On the 4th of March an immense crowd had gathered 
about Congress Hall. At eleven o'clock Mr. Jefferson took 
the oath as Vice President, in the presence of the Senate, 
and proceeded with that body to the chamber of the House 
of Representatives, which was densely crowded, many ladies 
occupying chairs ceded to them by members. That House 
of Representatives, at Sixth and Chestnut, only one square 
from his home on Market street, which has been minutely 
described in the masterly address of the President of this 
Society, of March, 1872. 

After a time Washington entered, amidst enthusiastic 
cheers and acclamations, and the waving of handkerchiefs. 
Mr. Adams soon followed, and was likewise well received, 
but not with like enthusiasm. Having taken the oath of 
office, Mr. Adams, in his inaugural address, spoke of his 
predecessor as one, " who, by a long course of great actions, 
regulated by prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, 
had merited the gratitude of his fellow citizens, commanded 
the highest praises of foreign nations, and secured immortal 
glory with posterity." At the close of the ceremony, as 
"Washington moved toward the door to retire, there was a 
rush from the gallery to the corridor, that threatened the 
loss of life or limb, so great was the anxiety to catch a last 
look of one who had so long been the object of veneration. 
When Washington was in the street he waved his hat in 



30 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

return for the cheers of the multitude, his countenance 
radiant with benignity, his gray hair streaming in the wind. 

The crowd followed him to his door ; there, turning round, 
his countenance assumed a grave, almost melancholy ex- 
pression, his eyes were bathed in tears, his emotions were 
too great for utterance, and only by gestures could he indi- 
cate his thanks and convey his farewell blessing. 

In the evening a splendid banquet was given to him by the 
citizens, in the amphitheatre. Among the paintings which 
decorated the walls, one represented the home to which he 
was about to hasten, Mount Vernon. 

Much as I would love to dwell linger on this portion of 
our subject, we must pass on. 

Robert Morris, the owner of the "Washington mansion, 
the great financier of the Revolution, honored and beloved 
as he was by all, yet, like great financiers before and since, 
dazzled, perhaps, like the holder of Aladdin's lamp, at their 
boundless creation of apparent wealth, and yet finding that 
there comes a time when the lamp no more responds to 
their touch — Robert Morris became embarrassed in his 
private affairs, and was (I believe, before even the close of 
the century) arrested for debt, at his house on Lemon Hill, 
whither he retreated, as to a castle, from his persecutors. 

Mr. Morris at that time owned lots fronting on High street, 
60 feet, adjoining Sixth street, then 75 feet, adjoining the 
60, then 46 feet, being the present numbers 514 and 516, 
being 181 feet on Market or High street, and extending 
through to Minor. "Whether he owned any of the ground 
between 516 and 524, 1 am not able to say; the present own- 
ers could inform us, and the Society would be indebted to 
them for the information. But the value of those lots which 
we know that he owned was greater than would be supposed. 






IN PHILADELPHIA. 31 

It must be remembered, this was an era, such as we look 
forward to in the Centennial period in our city. Philadelphia 
had just been adopted as the political capital of the nation, 
and the influx of strangers was very great, and, American- 
like, future fancied values were discounted in the present. 

Among the schemes of Mr. Morris, which tended largely 
to his ruin, was the erection of a new dwelling-house, on 
a scale then unknown to America. Having for some time 
had the plan in mind, he had, as is narrated in "Watson's An- 
nals, a conversation with a French Architect, who offered 
to build such a residence as Mr. Morris wanted for the sum 
of $60,000. On a friend remonstrating with him on such 
an enormous outlay for those times (for it is hardly too 
much to say that, considering the price of labor and mate- 
terial, $60,000 then would go as far as $600,000 now), to 
the remonstrance, Morris replied, " Oh, my Market street 
lots -will sell for $80,000," in which he was correct Ac- 
cordingly he purchased the square of ground, from Seventh 
to Eighth and from Chestnut to Walnut, and about the middle 
of it, where Sansom street now runs, he began the new 
palace ; but it was not destined to be completed ; the founda- 
tion and first floor, or perhaps only part of the first floor, 
were erected, when the storm of his financial troubles broke up- 
on him. 

Preparing for his new project he offers for sale, in a paper 
which I have, this property, describing it as "that in which 
the President of the United States now resides." He soon 
found a purchaser, as the next paper to be noticed reads : — 

" This Indenture, made on this 18th day of March, 1795, 
between the Hon. Robert Morris, of the city of Philadel- 
phia, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Mary, his 
wife, of the one part, and Andrew Kennedy, of the same 



32 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

place, merchant, of the other part, witnesseth, that the said 
Robert Morris, and Mary, his wife, for and in considera- 
tion of the sum of $37,000, to them in hand paid, etc., have 
granted, etc., etc., to the said Andrew Kennedy, etc., all that 
capital messuage in which the President of the United States 
now resides, situated on the south side of Market street, 
between Fifth and Sixth, in the said city, and the lot of 
ground whereon the same is erected, and also a lot of ground 
immediately to the eastward thereof, the whole being deemed 
to contain seventy-four feet, nine inches, on Market street 
and on Minor street." 

Accompanying this deed is " a memorandum of agreement 
this day entered into between Robert Morris and Andrew 
Kennedy, both of the city of Philadelphia. Robert Morris 
agrees to sell to the said Andrew Kennedy the house and 
lot in which the President of the United States now resides, 
with all the buildings thereon, that is, the lot on which the 
house stands, the twenty-four feet lot adjoining to the eastward, 
on which the bath house and other buildings are erected, 
etc Robert Morris is to take away his two large look- 
ing glasses (those before alluded to), the stove now stand- 
ing in the hall, the marble and wooden baths, with the 
copper boiler, apparatus of the bath, etc Robert Mor- 
ris stipulates that the President shall remain, if he desires 
it, the tenant for two years." 

There is an additional agreement, of date March 18th, 
1795, as follows, standing apart: — 

"I agree that Mr. Kennedy shall be put in possession 
whenever the President gives it up." 

Signed in a fine, bold hand, Robert Morris. 

In all these deeds and agreements of Robert Morris, the 
term "in which the President of the United States now 
resides" is so repeatedly used, as strongly to suggest very 
considerable satisfaction in having such a tenant. And 
surely such pride was never more excusable. 



IN PHILADELPHIA. 33 

The President did continue to occupy the property, as we 
have seen, for two years more, viz., until the spring of 1797. 

It remains now for us to trace the history of this property 
to the present day. In a paper, of date June 2d, 1831, the 
heirs of Andrew Kennedy, well-known and prominent peo- 
ple of Virginia and Maryland, offer a portion of this property 
for sale, describing it as " formerly occupied by the President 
of the United States, and fronting on Market street, about 
forty-five feet, nine inches." 

On the 12th day of April, 1832, this property, so offered, 
was purchased by the late Nathaniel Burt. The building 
had long been occupied in the upper part as a boarding 
house, and on the first floor by a confectioner and others. 
Everything was in decay, and of no pecuniary value, except 
for the ground. 

Of the propriety of permitting such mementoes of the 
past to remain, it is not our purpose to speak; such a ques- 
tion is one for cities and governments to decide, not for 
individuals. 

In the year 1833 the old buildings were razed to the 
ground : no vestige of them remains on the premises, except- 
ing on the Minor street front a portion of the old coach- 
house wall was incorporated into the new stores erected on 
that street. On the Market street front the ground was 
occupied by three stores, now Nos. 526, 528, 530 Market. 
No. 530, the largest of these, extending through to Minor 
and including the wall just alluded to, is now tenanted by 
the well-known Bookselling and Stationery firm of Sower, 
Potts & Co.,* No. 526 by the Clothing house of Greenabaum 
& Co., and No. 528 by Truitt & Co., Hardware merchants. 

* Christopher Sower, ancestor of Mr. Sower, published, in the year 1743, the 
first German Bible ever issued in America. 



34 THE WASHINGTON MANSION 

About the same time this building, so memorable for its 
illustrious occupant, was demolished, the residence now ISTo. 
1203 "Walnut was built by the owner of both, and it may- 
be interesting to some, as it is also a most pleasing fact to 
the descendants of the late owner, to know, that various 
mementoes of the old building are preserved in the new. 
Among these may be mentioned the front door lock, still in 
daily U33 on the front door of 1203 Walnut, four or five 
other lock3, and the front drawing room mantel, of carved 
wood. There were also brought from the garden some 
plants, among them a sweet-smelling shrub, known to be a 
favorite of Washington, and of which plant some very fine 
specimens still stand at Mt. Yernon. This plant still 
flourishes in the garden at 1203 Walnut. 

All honor to those noble ladies and their co-laborers who 
have preserved to us the beautiful home of Washington, on 
the Potomac, as the American Mecca for all time. But, to 
decently inter the dilapidated and repulsive carcass which 
.the lordly tenant has long since abandoned, and which sat 
like an unburied Grecian's ghost, shivering on the shore 

between the past and the present, storm-battered, and to 

rear upon its site not a costly pillar, standing chiefly as 

a hecatomb of a victimized people plundered to replenish 
the pockets of politicians, but — a monument of what, after 
all, is our true American pride, a Temple of Honest Industry, 
this, seems rather a work of merit than of blame. 

The name of Washington needs no such monument. It 
is graven on the heart of every American child, almost like 
his conscience, and his religious reverence, an innate idea ; 
it is written all over this broad continent, like the constel- 
lations of glory in the heavens. When danger confronts, 
when duty wearies, when honor and Christian faith, even, 



IX PHILADELPHIA. 35 

falter and are paralyzed, then let every American look up, 
up there, above, to that shining record of human character, 
so nearly perfect, and take heart for fresh trials and renewed 
efforts. 

In closing, let me again remind you, that the noble object 
of our Society, which, I take it, is well expressed in the 
words of Shakspeare, to be, lest 

" The dust on antique time would lie unswept, 
And mountainous error be too highly heaped 
For truth to overpeer," 

seems to indicate the propriety of some official record, on the 
subject of the location of this most interesting edifice. 



BJ9- 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 311 755 8 



